What We Want From the Star Wars TV Series (And What We Don't)
by Tom Burns

7. We don’t want R2D2 or C3PO to show up.

We don’t consider ourselves anti-droid - the series can be full of them for all we care... who are we to judge? - but we’ve really had enough of the two most iconic droids in Star Wars history. We grew more and more tired of them during the prequel trilogy (when R2 showed off new gadgets every scene and 3PO uttered some of the worst jokes in the franchise’s history), and there’s simply not much they could bring to the TV universe. Plus we still, STILL don’t understand how Ben Kenobi doesn’t remember R2 or why Vader doesn’t recognize 3PO or why R2 doesn’t mention to Luke that he watched him being born - it really makes no damn sense - so we’re very hesitant to have the duo witness any more events in Star Wars history and then have to explain why they don’t remember any of it in New Hope. (And don’t say they got their memories wiped. That’s stupid.)

8. We want politics, real politics.

Can’t believe we’re saying this during Ballot Bowl 2008 or after how much we hated all the Galactic Senate stuff in the prequel trilogy - but we really want the TV series to delve deep into the politics and personal convictions driving both the Empire and the Rebellion. We don’t want all Imperial agents to be blatantly evil or greedy enough to be swayed to the Dark Side. We want to see some true believers, both fanatics and sympathetic idealists who really, really believe that Emperor Palpatine is the best thing ever for the galaxy and we want them to be able to argue their reasons intelligently. On the flip side, we want to see the ugly aspects of the Rebellion - the in-fighting, the questionable guerilla tactics, the desperate measures, and the bad decisions. Good-vs-evil works in big mythic blockbusters, but we need something a little more meaty on weekly basic cable. Show us why a young recruit might choose to become an Imperial guard or why a local moisture farmer might not support the Rebellion. Show us why everything isn’t always black and white in the Star Wars universe, and we’ll happily follow the series through 100 episodes and more.

9. We don’t want to ever hear about midi-chlorians ever again.

We realize that most of the Jedi will be dead and buried (thanks to Order 66) in the new Star Wars series, but you can be sure that the Force will be making appearances from time to time. It’s just too vital a part of the Star Wars mythos to not show up eventually. However, when and if it does reappear, we really hope that the Force goes back to being the spiritual religion that Yoda practiced in Empire Strikes Back and completely abandons the midi-chlorian/"some people are more genetically predisposed to the Force" bullcrap that we first heard about in The Phantom Menace. Aside from the Force, we’ve never really heard much about the religion of the Star Wars universe, so, if Lucas allows the Force to go back to its spiritual roots, it’ll give the writers a huge new social aspect of the Star Wars mythology to play with.

10. We want Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.... please.

This one is a tall order. Lucas has specifically said that Vader and his big bossman wouldn’t be making appearances in the TV series, but come on, they HAVE TO! We’re not saying that they have to be major supporting characters, but you just know that the big cliffhanger of season 1 or 2 is going to go like this - some young Rebels find themselves in a sticky situation (possibly involving Death Star plans) and, all of the sudden, a familiar respirator sound is heard, a lightsaber ignites, and we see Lord Vader walk into frame - cut to black, "Executive Producer: George Lucas", and you spend the summer at the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. If Lucas can convince Harrison freakin’ Ford to make a quick cameo in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, he can totally get James Earl Jones and Ian McDiarmid to show up for a few minutes. We’re so sure this one is actually going to happen, we’re almost willing to put money down on it... almost.